Nan Groot Antink

1954

Boxtel

Nan Groot Antink strives for intensity and concentration in her work. She tries to create an image so clear that the viewer’s gaze slows down, and the experience of looking intensifies. Following the tradition of minimal painting she searched for a different way of painting and found a solution in natural dyes, which she prepares herself from plants and other natural materials. This experimental way of working challenges her constantly and forces her to accept the resulting colours as given. She explores the tension between the colours as they emerge from the material and their aesthetic value, as well as the interactions when colours are placed next to or on top of each other. For Groot Antink the material aspects of vegetable dyes and the way they are applied are defining elements. Her monochromes on cloth develop as the fibres of the fabric become completely saturated with the dye. Colours appear in their purest forms and the distinction between image and support disappears. In the exhibition she also presents an installation of steeping pots: glass jars filled with water, plant material and cotton fabric that gradually absorbs the plant pigments.